of in their abfence) yet will give you even in your abfence their good word; and the critics only hate you, for being forced to speak well of you whether they will or no: All this is true the word of

upon

Your, &c.

LETTER XXI.

From Mr. WY CHERLEY.

Aug. 11, 1709.

Y letters, fo much inferior to yours, can only make up their scarcity of sense by their number of lines; which is like the Spaniards paying a debt of gold with a load of brass money. But to be a plain dealer, I must tell you, I will revenge the raillery of your letters by printing them (as Dennis did mine) without your knowledge too, which wou'd be a revenge upon your judgment for the raillery of your wit; for fome dull rogues (that is the moft in the world) might be fuch fools as to think what you faid of me was in earnest: It is not the first time, your great wits have gain'd reputation by their paradoxical or ironical praises; your forefathers have done it, Erafmus and others. For all mankind who know me

muft

muft confess, he must be no ordinary genius, or little friend, who can find out any thing to commend in me feriously; who have given no fign of my judgment but my opinion of yours, nor mark of my wit, but my leaving off writing to the public now you are beginning to fhew the world what you can do by yours: whose wit is as fpiritual as your judgment infallible: in whofe judgment I have an implicit faith, and fhall always fubfcribe to it to fave my works, in this world, from the flames and damnation.-Pray, prefent my most humble fervice to Sir William Trumbull; for whom and whose judgment I have fo profound a refpect, that his example had almost made me marry, more than my Nephew's ill carriage to me; having once refolv'd to have revenged myself upon him by my marriage, but now am refolv❜d to make my revenge greater upon him by His marriage.

I

LETTER XXII.

From Mr. WY CHERLEY.

April 1, 1710.

Have had yours of the 30th of the last month, which is kinder than I defire it should be, fince it tells me you cou'd be better pleas'd to

be

be fick again in Town in my company, than to be well in the Country without it ; and that you are more impatient to be depriv'd of happinefs than of health. Yet, my dear friend, fet raillery or compliment afide, I can bear your abfence (which procures your health and eafe) better than I can your company when you are in pain: for I cannot fee you so without being fo too. Your love to the Country I do not doubt, nor do you (I hope) my love to it or you, fince there I can enjoy your company without seeing you in pain to give me fatisfaction and pleasure; there I can have you without rivals or difturbers; without the too civil, or the too rude: without the noise of the loud, or the cenfure of the filent: and wou'd rather have you abuse me there with the truth, than at this diftance with your compliment: fince now, your bufinefs of a friend, and kindness to a friend, is by finding fault with his faults, and mending them by your obliging severity. I hope (in point of your goodnature) you will have no cruel charity for those papers of mine, you are fo willing to be troubled with; which I take most infinitely kind of you, and shall acknowledge with gratitude, as long as I live. No friend can do more for his friend than preferving his reputation (nay, not by preserving his life) fince by preserving

his

his life he can only make him live about threescore or fourfcore years; but by preferving his reputation, he can make him live as long as the world lafts; fo fave him from damning, when he is gone to the devil. Therefore, I pray, condemn me in private, as the Thieves do their accomplices in Newgate, to fave them from condemnation by the public. Be moft kindly unmerciful to my poetical faults,

and do with

my papers, as you country-gentlemen do with your trees, flash, cut, and lop off the excrefcencies and dead parts of my wither'd bays, that the little remainder may live the longer, and increase the value of them by diminishing the number. I have troubled you with my papers rather to give you pain than pleasure, notwithstanding your compliment, which fays you take the trouble kindly: fuch is your generosity to your friends, that you take it kindly to be defired by them to do them a kindnefs; and you think it done to you, when they give you an opportunity to do it them. Wherefore you may be fure to be troubled with my letters out of intereft, if not kindness; fince mine to you will procure yours to me: fo that I write to you more for my own fake than yours; lefs to make think I write well, than to learn from you to write better. Thus you fee intereft in my kindness, which is like

you

the friendship of the world, rather to make a friend than be a friend; but I am yours, as a true Plain-dealer.

LETTER XXIII.

From Mr. WY CHERLEY.

April 11, 1710.

FI can do part of my bufinefs at Shrewfbury in a fortnight's time (which I propose to do) I will be foon after with you, and trouble you with my company, for the remainder of the fummer: in the mean time I beg you to give yourself the pains of altering, or leaving out what you think fuperfluous in my papers, that I may endeavour to print fuch a number of them as you and I fhall think fit, about Michaelmas next. In order to which (my dear friend) I beg you to be fo kind to me, as to be fevere to them; that the critics may be lefs fo; for I had rather be condemn'd by my friend in private, than expos'd to my foes in public, the critics, or common judges, who are made fuch by having been old offenders themselves. Pray, believe I have as much faith. in your friendship and fincerity, as I have deference to your judgment; and as the best mark